How to Make Beautiful Sgraffito Decorated Eggs

Sgraffito is an art technique in which a surface layer of paint, plaster, slip, etc., is scratched away to reveal a ground of contrasting colour underneath.

In this tutorial, we will first show you a simple technique for blowing an egg, and then how to decorate it using Sgraffito. This is such a fun activity for the whole family – even Daddy had a go!

How to Blow an Egg.

We are lucky enough to have a constant supply of these beautiful large tinted eggs from our lovely Light Sussex Hens. I simply washed and dried them, and then used a hand drill to make small holes in both ends of each egg.

As kids we used a pin to make the holes. When I bought the syringes and needles from our local agricultural store, the man who served me said he used to use the thorns from Hawthorn bushes.

Use the syringe and needle to introduce air into the egg at one end, and the contents will push out of the other. If it is difficult for the yolk to pass out, give the contents a stir with a cocktail stick. Alternatively, you can use the traditional method of blowing with your mouth.

Once the egg is empty wash it out, and leave to dry.

Decorating an egg with Sgraffito.

Paint the dry, clean eggs with acrylic paint. The eggs you see in this tutorial had two coats applied.  We found that we could just get a kebab stick into ours, which held them really nicely for painting!

Note: We painted some eggs pink and others teal, and ended up using the teal ones for the rest of this project.

It’s now time to start making your Sgraffito pattern. I used a punched out butterfly as a template, then used my craft knife to scratch around it to get the outline. As long as you can grip it safely, I am sure you could use a number of different items; such as a fork prong or map pin.

Once I had scratched out my outline, I added some detail to the body and wings. It is pretty easy to scratch the paint away! I repeated the process around my egg until I was satisfied with the effect.

We are absolutely delighted with our Sgraffito eggs turned out! The effect is really pretty, and providing you wash you egg out well and allow it to dry before painting, there is no reason why it shouldn’t last forever.

If you’ve enjoyed our Sgraffito eggs tutorial, you can find some more of my other easy egg decorating ideas below.

How to Make a Decoupaged Easter Egg

Decoupage is the art of decorating an object by gluing coloured paper on to it, then sealing the finished product in layers of varnish until the cut-out appearance vanishes altogether. Artisans in the past have combined this technique with specialist paints and finishes such as gold leaf to produce stunning works of art.

Although I can not promise that our works of art will end up in a museum in a couple of hundred years, it is easy to use the concept of decoupage at home to decorate objects. And it is a fun activity to do with the kids.

How to Make Pretty String Wrapped Eggs

These pretty string wrapped eggs are perfect for Easter decorations and are quick and easy to make without having to use messy glue. We used wooden eggs for our base which we had painted white, but this method would work just as well with blown eggs, or the polystyrene ones you find in the craft stores.

Easy Wet Felted Easter Egg Owl

Learn the process of wet felting using a washing machine with this Easy Wet Felted Easter Egg Owl using a wooden egg form.

Review: Egg Art. 50 Designs to Paint, Dye and Draw

The focus of this book is, of course, the 50 beautiful egg art designs. Each project has well laid out instructions as well as a beautiful photograph of the finished design.

Designs range from those suitable for the youngest members of the family to try out on hard-boiled eggs to more intricate designs that require a little more patience and artistry.